Former Hawk Fauria talks about almost using human growth hormone

Christian Fauria, who spent several seasons with the Seahawks as a tight end, was about to use human growth hormone. It was late in his career. He had bum ankles. So he bought HGH, even held the stuff in his hands, he told The Los Angeles Times.

Christian Fauria, from his playing days with Seattle

But Fauria says he didn’t use it, not because it would break the rules but because he worried about the long-term effects.

Fauria was a Seahawk from 1995 through 2001, then spent several seasons with the Patriots and a season each with the Redskins and Panthers.

“But the HGH, I didn’t really become aware of it until my ankles were jacked up. I started seeing guys like Olympic coaches, people who were training Olympic athletes. When I went to that elite level, I was like, ‘Whoa! There’s another world out here.’ I was like, ‘This is what they do? Holy cow!'”

And he tells the newspaper what it was like to play against players who used HGH.

“I was one of those guys who said, ‘No way. Nobody’s doing it.’ And then I just remember playing against some guys who will remain nameless, and I remember going, ‘This is a joke.’ Because I remember working my tail off, harder than I ever did before. My energy wasn’t as high. My strength — which I thought was high — wasn’t. And I remember sitting there going, ‘I am running uphill in a snowstorm with no shoes.’ That’s what I felt like.”